Assessment

**ASSESSMENT** By Ashley G., Glenda R. & Willmarie V.  **INTRODUCTION** The assessment of students has become a major importance to the United States Education System due to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Assessment involves determining the effective standards, which in turn helps to find out how much students know. Assessment is an ongoing process of setting high expectations for student learning, measuring progress toward established learning outcomes, and providing a basis for reflection, discussion and feedback to improve academic programs. It is a systematic and cyclic process that makes expectations and standards explicit and public. Since each state has their own criteria for developing standards and assessments; assessing student's performance has become difficult and other times, controversial. This can be true of the English Language Learners (ELLs). There are three kinds of testing that have a direct impact on ELLs: language proficiency testing, standardized achievement testing, and diagnostic testing for placement in special programs. Students who are ELLs encounter more difficulties in showing and expressing their abilities than native English speakers. The Department of Education of New York has established a policy for giving ELLs  testing accommodations. Teachers can use informal practices, such as rubrics, to<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> assess and understand their student's progress. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Using performance based assessment can show <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">student's development and growth in English. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> This will inform the teachers how to proceed with their teaching. W<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ell rounded bilingual/bi-literate students must be assessed in both languages, this requires looking at how the individual language works and how students' cognitive abilities develop as they learn to read and write in their native and second languages. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**MAIN POINTS** 1. Education should be a collaborative process, in which all members are given the opportunity to contribute. No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has not provided teachers with the necessary choices in regards to students. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Multiple assessments are needed for an accurate portrait of the academic achievement of all students. No single test can provide an accurate portrait of students and schools. Smarter, more nuanced assessments can provide better information on achievement without increasing the testing burden and wasting valuable instructional time.High-need students should have the best prepared and most experienced teachers and funds should be set aside for on-going staff development and also the most qualified teachers should be put in the class with the greatest number of high need students. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">2. Recent research studies and statistics show evidence that effective assessment of achievement for ELLs is still undergoing construction. Recommendations and suggestions are made but effective and just policies have not been made as of yet. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">3. The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandates that public schools provide a free, appropriate education to all eligible children and youth with disabilities from birth to age 21. It requires that service providers consider cultural and linguistic issues when they identify and evaluate children for disabilities. For English-language learners, the law requires students to be assessed to the extent feasible in the language that best reflects what they know and can do. Students who have attended school in the United States for three years must receive assessments in English to assess their skills in reading and language arts. This suggests that a student may be misplaced due to a language difference instead of a disability. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">4. Different assessments for different states equals different results. We are due for one nationwide format alongwith effective assessments that at the very least have the least margin of errors. We need board members to represent our teachers, our students, and our parents. We need strong and stable second language policies. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">5. There are legal concerns regarding how ELLs enter and exit the program services. In order for students to exit these services, they must be administered the assessment test, the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) and must have a passing score. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">6. Testing policies do not consider student's achievement throughout the program and <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">do not provide a benchmark for educators in which to better guide and assist students in exiting the program. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">7. In an attempt to measure student achievement, the New York State Education Department has created assessments but they do not address the needs of minority students. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">8. Testing children in their native language is a basic necessity. Testing children in a language other than the one they are fluent is unjust and sets them up for failure. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">9. Test accommodations are necessary because <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">they provide <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">various methods for student responses. This is a basic necessity, and should be made available at all times. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">10. O<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ther factors that should be considered includes the setting, the student's familiarity of the test administrator, and the ratio of students who are tested at the same time. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">11. Writing rubrics can be used to help teachers assess their students progress, aligning instruction and assessment, and for having conversations about the language arts curriculum. 12. ELLs who have become proficient <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">in English, can have testing accommodations during the next two school years. The extension will provide ELLs with the opportunity to demonstrate their content knowledge while developing their linguistic and academic skills. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**LINKS AND ANNOTATIONS** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Avitia, D. (2006). //Regents Exams and English Language Learners//. New York, NY; __Gotham Gazette: Citizens Union Foundation__. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from __[]__ This is an article that states both sides of the test accommodations debate. T<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">est accommodations for ELLs help increase test scores and therefore decrease the high school dropout rate. Or would testing accommodations be unfair to ELLs because it they would be a disservice to the students its meant to serve? Do test accomodations need to be in place in order to ensure the students know what is expected of them? Or is providing them with other methods of responding to the test questions making the testing experience easier for them and unfair to other students overall? accomodations to be considered include more time, seperate accomodations, bilingual dictionaries, and interpreters. GR <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Blades, M. (2007). //Jim Cummins Demolishes NCLB’s Ideology and Practice.// __Daily Kos.__ Retrieved on February 18, 2009, from __ [] __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Jim Cummins opposes NCLB's practice   in limiting teachers' choice when it was meant to originally eliminate teacher errors and in fact it underminds them. GR  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Colorin Colorado. (2007). //Using Informal Assessments for English Language Learners.// Retrieved on February 12, 2009, from Colorin Colorado Web site: [] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This article discusses different types of on-going informal assessments that teachers can use to learn about the progress of their students regularly. The types of informal assessments that can be used varies from performance based assessments which measures classroom instruction and everyday task to portfolio assessments which measures students work throughout the year. GR <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Escamilla, K. & Coady, M. (2001). //Assessing the Writing of Spanish Speaking Students: Issues and suggestions.// __In J. Tinajero and S. Hurley (eds.), Handbook for Literacy Assessment for Bilingual Learners__. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Retrieved on Feb 4, 2009, from [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This chapter shows the importance of assessing the writing of Spanish speakers in their native language. It gives suggestions on implementing the assessments. An example that was given was of Lupe and her English writing sample. The teacher commented that Lupe has “cognitive processing problems, poor vocabulary and grammar, a hard time expressing herself orally and in writing, a hard time with logical sequencing and that Lupe needs to be placed in a special program”. After collecting a Spanish sample, it was concluded that there weren't any problems with the above mentioned, and that Lupe was a competent writer and thinker. Assessments for ELLs from an English viewpoint underestimates their cognitive and academic strengths. If bilingualism and biliteracy is the goal, the students must be assessed in both languages, thus creating authentic assessments.WV Irujo, S. (2004). //Test preparation for ELL learners; pros and cons.// __The ELL Outlook__. Retrieved on February 12, 2009, from [] In this article, Irujo talks about what teachers can do to increase <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ELLs  academic language by incorporating explicit focus on language into their instruction. In following this type of instruction in place of teaching students how to take test and bubble in the right answer, ELL students will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills they need and reduce the achievement gaps that exist today. AG <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Kuhlman, N. (2005). //The Language Assessment Conundrum: What Test Claim to Assess and What Teachers Need to Know.// __ELL Outlook.__ Retrieved on February 2, 2009 from []This article discusses some of the legal cases that have required formal language assessments. //Lau v. Nichols 1974// resulted in having students whose first language was other than English were required to receive instructions they can understand. Unfortunately, commercial language proficiency tests do not assess true proficiency, so they may be problematic. The teacher must implement performance based instruments that they can use on a regular basis to document their students development and growth in English. AG NYC Department of Education: Office of Accountability (2006). Brooklyn, NY; <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The New York City Department of Education. Retrieved on February 18, 2009 from: []Website provides several links: Calendar, Memoranda, Test Administration & Policy, test Info for parents, periodic assessments, reading first, and ECLAS-2 results.Other links include assessment options, parent coordinator, and resources for educators. The most resourceful link might be the one for educators which helps them to obtain information regarding how to use assessments for English Language Learners. School discretion is used to decide whether one assessment or more is sufficient. GR NYCORE (2004). //NYCoRE’s Position Statement Against High Stakes Testing: The struggle for justice does not end when the school bell rings.// Retrieved on February 18, 2009, from New York Collective of Radicals:Struggle for Educational Justice Web site:__[]__ Position paper opposing high stakes standardized testing because it is believed to be a racially biased method for assessing academic achievement. It provides data to show that minority students especially students who are immigrants and thus do not speak, write, read, nor comprehend the English fluently suffer the greatest consequences: increased dropout rates, retention, and increased poverty levels. WV NYSED Standards, Assessment and Reporting. University of the State of New York State Education Department. Retrieved on February 12, 2009, from The University of the State of New York Education Department Web site: [] This website provides information on different assessment tools established by the NYS department of education. This information includes the different types of assessment used in NYS, conversion, charts teacher evaluation forms, examination schedules as well as workshops for teachers on test development. AG NYSUT (2008). //Test Accommodations Extended for Former English Language Learner.// __Schenectady, NY;__ __NYSUT: Research and Educational Services. Number 08-24__ retrieved on Feb. 2, 2009 from __[]__ This article describes the accommodations New York State has permitted for ELLs. This new policy will allow the ELLs who have become proficient in English, to have testing accommodations during the next two school years. The extension will provide formers ELLs with the “opportunity to demonstrate their content knowledge while developing their linguistic and academic skills.” WV The State Education Department/The University of the State of New York. (2006). //State Regents ELL Report// [Data file]. T<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">he EMSC VESID. Retrieved on February 2, 2009, from: __[]__ Data collection and analysis performed by The State Education Department/The University of the State of New York in an attempt to measure the performance of LEP/ELL students based on current strategies. Overall, the state assesses itself by way of measuring strategies that show high results in student performance. GR Sato, E. (2008). //Assessing the English Language Proficiency of ELLs in K–2: Validity and Reliability Challenges and Considerations.// __AccELLerate Vol.1 Issue 2.__ retrieved on February 2, 2009 from []Sato states that there are three challenges that K-2 ELLs face: familiarity, maturation, and English language proficiency and language literacy. To minimize the effect, students should be familiar with the assessment's tasks, setting (building, classroom, desk), test administration, and context. Sato asserts that individual administration of assessments is preferable to help ensure accuracy and allows students to demonstrate their English language skills.AG Sugarman, J. & Arteagoitia, I. (2007). //Spanish Language Assessments for Dual Language Programs.// Washington, DC. __Center for Applied Linguistics.__ Retrieved on February 2, 2009 from [] This guide contains descriptions of assessments that may be appropriate for use in dual language programs. The guide does not make explicit recommendations but contains information that may help dual language practitioners select tests in the partner language for students in Grades PreK–12. The guide includes a list of related assessments, detailed information about them and a glossary of terms. WV